ALL WOUND UP (Stephanie Pearl-McPhee)

Like author Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, crytoscopophilia (the urge to look in people's windows as you pass by) is one of my favorite pastimes!  No, neither of us is a Peeping Tom; it's not that kind of looking!  It's the kind of looking where you catch a momentary glimpse into someone's life...their decorating taste, their activities, their family dynamics... and you automatically begin to infer things or create scenarios about them.  It's interesting that Pearl-McPhee is so intrigued by this word and its meaning because she provides the reader with much the same experience, albeit with a bit more detail and a lot more humor, through her essays about her life and knitting.

At the age of four Pearl-McPhee was taught to knit by her grandmother, and she has since created a lifestyle and writing career out of this hobby.  I'm a very casual and unskilled knitter, but I do crochet, so I understand her love of color, texture, pattern, and the camaraderie that comes of sharing the love of a craft and the creation of beautiful things with others.  Unfortunately, I also understand her "stash" and how yarn can overtake your whole home.  Just ask my husband and kids, although I've gotten it pretty much under control at the moment by hiding yarn in and behind furniture. I plan to use the author's explanation of "snacks," yarn that you buy in small quantities just to satisfy your craving and prevent yourself from buying enough for a big project, the next time (and there WILL be one!) I am challenged on whether or not I might need to use up the yarn I already have before I buy more.

But, getting back to the book....You don't have to be a yarn enthusiast (but it makes it more fun) to savor and enjoy Pearl-McPhee's observations on teenagers, fashion, high school awkwardness, bras, deadlines, parenting, etymology, mathematics, seasons, the industrial revolution, and addiction, to name a few of her topics.  The author has a successful knitting blog at www.yarnharlot.ca.  She is short, disorganized, poorly groomed and dressed (by her own admission), socially awkward, and didn't get married until after she and her husband had produced three daughters.  She is, on the surface, nothing like me (well, except maybe for the socially awkward and grooming things!), but I feel a strong connection to her nonetheless.  Maybe it's because knitting, despite the fact that it has become wildly popular with the masses, is a traditionally feminine activity, or maybe it's just that her humor targets such universal topics so succinctly.  All I know is that I want more!

YOU BETTER KNOT DIE (Betty Hechtman)

Yarn!  For some reason novels that feature this wonderful substance always make me want more!

Widowed Molly Pink is again embroiled in murder and intrigue at the Shedd & Royal Bookstore.  As the staff prepares for a pre-holiday book signing by the mysterious author of a popular series featuring a romantic crocheting vampire, the community is rocked by the apparent suicide of Larry Perkins.  Larry is a popular investment whiz who has brokered lucrative deals for many of Molly's friends.  He and his wife, Emily, are also Molly's next door neighbors.  After grief-stricken Emily gives Molly a strange crocheted blanket created by Larry's sister, Molly's house is broken into and ransacked, while Larry's investors begin to worry about where their money has gone.  Things just don't add up, so Molly launches an investigation into Larry's disappearance, much to the consternation of her protective and competitive beaus, detective Bernie and lawyer Mason.  Is Larry really dead?  Does Emily know more than she is letting on?  Will coworker Adele ever stop driving Molly crazy?  Will Mason ever finish the sweater he is crocheting for his dog?  Check out this sweet Christmas themed mystery and find out!

40 LOVE (Madeleine Wickham)

I was just thinking that if I had a blog I would write a piece on inappropriate book covers that are obviously geared toward trying to attract readers of a popular genre despite the fact that the novel in question does not fit into that genre.  Then I realized that I DO have a blog!  Hello!  If you have read any of my previous posts you know that this cover manipulation is a sore spot with me, but I guess it's common practice in the publishing industry.

Madeleine Wickham is the actual name of popular chick-lit author Sophie Kinsella.  Kinsella's "Shopaholic' series is hilarious and I have read and enjoyed every one.  As Madeleine Wickham, however, the author's work leans more toward literary fiction, but you'd never know it from this cover, which I cannot seem to successfully attach to this post.  Think Joanna Trollope with an undercurrent of Nancy Thayer.  40 Love is about 3 couples, 2 married and an obnoxious father/daughter duo, who are invited for a weekend of tennis hosted by  Patrick and Caroline at their country home, the White House.  Patrick is a successful investment broker who hopes to cajole his friends into enough new business to earn a 100,000 pound bonus.  His wife Caroline, is a former spokesmodel who is sweet and generous, but slightly too brassy and bright to fit in well with the "old school."  Old friends Stephen and Annie are relatively poor, since Stephen has taken a sabbatical to finish work on his doctorate and they are currently making ends meets with savings and Annie's part-time work.  Their young daughter, Nicola, has suffered a stroke and struggles to keep up with the "normal" kids. Surrounded by his successful friends, Stephen suddenly finds himself feeling financially inferior and, worse, like a failure in life. Charles, who lived with the well-liked, bohemian Ella in his younger days, is now married to heiress Cressida and the father of twins.  His pride in his successful marriage and family life is tested when Cressida receives disturbing news about her inheritance.  Don, an overbearing local would-be hotelier, and his overweight, socially inept but clueless daughter, Valerie, round out the tennis group.  When Ella arrives unexpectedly, at Georgina's invitation, old rivalries and new inadequacies suddenly come front and center and suddenly marriages and friendships are in jeopardy.

If you are a fan of Joanna Trollope, Elizabeth Buchan, and perhaps Anne Tyler, take a deep breath, ignore the cutie in the tennis outfit on the cover, and pick up 40 Love.  I think you'll enjoy it.

DRINKING PROBLEMS AT THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH (Beth Teitell)

As a woman of a certain age, I was very interested in Beth Teitell's hilarious journey through our culture's obsession with youthful appearance.  How many times have we heard the phrase "reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles" or "look and feel younger?"  We live in an era where graceful aging is no longer a goal, but a stigma, and revealing one's true age is akin to admitting that you don't think that learning to read should be a priority in public schools.  TV and print marketing have relegated women over 40, unless they are admirably well-maintained a la Demi Moore (and has that served her well personally or romantically?), to almost non-existent status except in the "youth preservation" area.  Products and procedures to slow the aging process, firm sagging skin, color gray hair, minimize flabby chins, fill in deep lines and reduce fine lines, not to mention rejuvenate sexual abilities (albeit mostly for men), control incontinence, enhance nutrition, lighten age spots, and call for help in an emergency have taken over advertising for the older crowd.  Where are the ads for flattering clothes (without fleece, polyester, or elastic waists), fashionable eyeglasses, movies, hair stylists, and recreational equipment that feature smiling middle-aged people with wrinkles who seem to be actually enjoying life rather than hiding in shame or attempting to disguise their true age (that 35-year-old child might just be a dead giveaway that you aren't actually 40!)?

Teitell's research in writing this entertaining search for the fountain of youth is exhaustive.  She consults skin care experts, dermatologists, plastic surgeons, psychologists, retailers, facial exercise experts, friends, and government statistics in her quest to discover the truth about whether or not looking and feeling younger is actually an attainable goal.  Numerous products, advice, and treatments later, she provides a list of 10 tips to maintain a healthy, more youthful look as you age (in other words, advice on aging gracefully without breaking the bank or spending hours each day maintaining yourself) :  exercise, take care of your skin, use a little makeup, take care of your hair, don't obsess about your age, dress appropriately for the occasion, whiten your teeth, use an age-appropriate vocabulary, sleep, and be charming.  Her ultimate advice?  Inner happiness and sunblock are the keys to a beautiful life.  I couldn't agree more!

WIFE-IN-LAW (Haywood Smith)

Haywood Smith always draws me in to the slightly off-kilter but almost believable lives of her characters.  She also usually makes me laugh out loud!  Wife-in-Law begins with picture-perfect newlyweds Betsy and Greg Callison moving into a new house in a new development circa 1975.  He is an up and coming accountant and she is the perfect 1950's-style wife, complete with a spotless house, a hot dinner, and fresh make-up ready greet her husband when he returns from work every day.  Betsy is excited to find that new neighbors are moving into the house across the street, that is until she discovers that Kat and Zach seem to be hippies, unmarried, laid back, and, perhaps worst of all, politically liberal.  Still, the couples form a close friendship and their children grow up together with Betsy and Kat becoming best friends despite differences in political  philosophies.  When philandering Greg eventually leaves Betsy for his secretary, her life is thrown into turmoil, but she works through her anger and grief and takes it in stride when Greg returns to the neighborhood after 2 years and marries the recently widowed Kat.  Having fully moved on from Greg's betrayal, Betsy has no problem accepting the situation until she makes a discovery that compels her to become involved in her ex's marriage, with life-changing consequences.  This tongue-in-cheek story of marriage and friendship won't disappoint Smith's loyal readers, and I would suggest that Mary Kay Andrews' fans check it out as well.

THEN CAME YOU (Jennifer Weiner)

India Bishop has, unexpectedly, fallen in love with her older, wealthy husband Marcus.  When the couple fails to conceive a baby they turn to Annie Barrow, a young married mother with financial problems, and Julie, a beautiful Princeton student desperate to help her father beat addiction, to help them achieve their dream of parenthood.  Marcus' skeptical grown daughter, Bettina, believes that her step-mother is a gold-digger and sets out to dish up whatever dirt she can find on India's hidden past.  As surrogate Annie's due date approaches, an unexpected turn of events shatters the joy of India's impending motherhood and Bettina is thrust into an unexpected but fulfilling role in baby Aurora's life.

The four women in this novel share a common characteristic, namely desperation.  While the plot is a bit unbelievable and each of the women's situations border on melodrama, Weiner, as usual, manages to pull the threads of the plot together into a well-written and entertaining story.  This would make a great Lifetime movie!

SEW DEADLY (Elizabeth Lynn Casey)

This is the first of Casey's Southern Sewing Circle mysteries, a great cozy series featuring librarian Victoria "Tori"  Sinclair.  Northerner Tori's arrival in Sweet Briar, South Carolina from Chicago is met with some resistance by the established locals.  She has been hired to replace longtime librarian Dixie Dunn, whom she assumed had retired but who had, in fact, been ousted from her position in favor of a newer, more modern approach to library services.  Tori  is invited to attend the local sewing circle and discovers there both warm welcomes and cold shoulders, plus an annoying insistence by one member on using her full first name.  When things start being mysteriously "misplaced" in the library Tori finds herself unprepared for both a visit from a local 3rd grade class (with a dreamy teacher!) and an important library board meeting. Tori and the widowed teacher, Milo, find themselves attracted to each other.  When Tori finds the body of a local girl whose crush on Milo is common knowledge in Sweet Briar, she is immediately the prime suspect in an imagined love triangle.  As she works to clear her name Tori uncovers some not-so-sweet goings on in the town.

Despite the fact that Elizabeth Lynn Casey (real name: Laura Bradford) is neither a Southerner nor a sewer, she creates a wonderful cast of characters in her Southern Sewing Circle ladies.  Practical, motherly Mary Louise, resentful Dixie, Leona, and the rest all promise to become great friends in future installments of the series and I look forward to reading them all!

THE EVIL THAT MEN DO (Jeanne Dams)

American ex-pat Dorothy Martin and her British husband, retired chief constable Alan Nesbitt, have embarked on a walking tour of the Cotswolds.  Interestingly enough, though, they never cross paths with M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin!   They do, however (and not unexpectedly), run across a murder when they discover the body of an unidentified man in a deserted quarry during one of their daily jaunts.  The disappearances of both a budding young rock star and a local social worker, who is involved with a shelter for abused women, complicate matters and put Dorothy's formidable powers of deduction (and Alan's patience) to the test.  As usual, Dams has written a charming and well-thought out tale that keeps the reader guessing throughout.  One of the most attractive features of this series is the affectionate relationship between Dorothy and Alan.  Read this series!